Zen Buddhism in Japan

by Natalie Ha and Eric Yoon



In Japan:

Zen Buddhism influenced Japanese cultures: ink painting, calligraphy, tea ceremonies, and gardening.
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Japanese Calligraphy
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Japanese Tea Ceremony

Basic Info:

Zen Buddhism spread from China and it is the same school of Buddhism as Chan Buddhism in China. The word 禪, is pronounced as Chan in Chinese and Zen in Japanese. Zen Buddhism emphasizes meditation as a source to reach Enlightenment. They also believe that by meditating, they could get rid of the ignorance that is covering up the Enlightenment that is present in every human.
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Meditation
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Zen Buddhists

  • The word Zen is from the Sanskrit word dhyana, which means meditation.

Symbol:

The symbol of Zen Buddhism is called the enso. There are two types of the enso: one is a brushstroke of a closed circle and the other is a brushstroke of a circle with one small opening.
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Closed Enso

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Open Enso


Two Schools in Zen Buddhism: Rinzai and Soto

1) Rinzai:
The Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism rely on the koan. The koan is a paradoxical anecdote or a riddle that has no solution, which was used to show the inadequacy of logical reasoning.
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Rinzai Temple

Example: “Two hands clap and there is a sound; what is the sound of one hand?"

2) Soto:
The Soto school of Zen Buddhism emphasizes a slow approach to reach Enlightenment by the practice of sitting mediation called the Zazen.
soto_symbol.jpg
Symbol of the Soto School


Citations:

Research
http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/sects/zen.htm
http://www.suite101.com/content/zen-buddhism-a72079
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/subdivisions/zen_1.shtml
Pictures
http://www.wordtravels.com/Travelguide/Countries/Japan/Map
http://losangeles.diarystar.com/japanese-painting/
http://johndenugent.com/english/english-holappa-on-norways-muslim-gang-rape-crime-wave-gmo-foods
http://greggchadwick.blogspot.com/2010/04/sosekis-light.html
http://www015uppso-netnejpcalligraphy.blogspot.com/2010/02/zen-priest-dogen.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lotus_Nelumbo_nucifera_Flower_Large_3264px.jpg
http://chl.anu.edu.au/southasia/sanskrit/sanskrit.php
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/pbs2_unit03.htm
http://fieldwork-on-tibetan-buddhism.blogspot.com/2010/10/introductory-lecture-to-buddhism.html
http://green1230.egloos.com/32727
http://neurogadget.com/2011/02/16/regular-meditation-boosts-brain-health-quickly/945
http://www.caseyshannon.com/id22.html
http://ensoworks.com/about/
http://www.zenpaintings.com/stark.htm
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/7nwVB8QR_tYC807I_hWJ2Q
http://zenandbackagain.blogspot.com/2010_09_01_archive.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/29295/rokuon-ji.htm
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Soto_Zen_crest.svg
http://yeschinatour.com/china-guides/chinese-culture/zen/
http://www.outofbodytravel.org/theoverviewseries/sotozenancestors.html
http://www.japanese-buddhism.com/sotozen.html#axzz1EUS4EAXY
http://www.audiocrafting.com/releases/koan.html
http://www.petermacintosh.com/indian.html
Music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR3dM-GlZK8